Wait, Is This New Harassment Story Helping Herman Cain?

Courtesy of CNN Conservatives are rallying behind Republican front-runner Herman Cain after a bombshell report from POLITICO that he was accused on harassing two women while the head of the National Restaurant Association over a decade ago.

Ann Coulter called POLITICO a "liberal publication," saying that the report was an unsubstantiated personal attack from the left.

"When Conservatives accuse someone of sexual harassment it's true — not with them," she said on Fox News. "We accused John Edwards. We accused Bill Clinton. We don't go around like them accusing John McCain having an affair...or Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill."

"Liberals are terrified of Herman Cain," she added. "He is a strong, conservative black man…They are terrified of strong, conservative black men."

Conservative blogs lit up in defense of Cain — who is a favorite among tea party members. RedState's Erick Erickson did not comment on whether the report was accurate, but said "we have never seen a candidate publicly vetted before like this."

"The closest comes with the rise of Mike Huckabee in 2008, when we witnessed what seemed like a never ending media attack," he added. "It was, in reality, the other campaigns running as quickly as possible to the media to pour out all the dirt they'd rapidly accumulated."

If the story remains as vague as it is now, these allegations could actually help Cain with the conservative base, who will now be suspicious of the other candidates for leaking the story.

But if the allegations prove true — or if Cain is caught in a lie as he denies the story — he will find himself all alone, as the party looks for an electable candidate to defeat President Barack Obama next year.